McDonald’s Pulls Hugely Distasteful ‘Dead Dad’ Ad

In the realm of ‘ideas that aren’t great’, we’d say the trivialisation of losing a parent is probably inching towards the top. There’s something unnerving about the pairing of a seemingly deep discussion of lost memories and the hasty devouring of a Fillet-O-Fish. Still, McDonald’s thought it was actually a match made in heart-strings heaven, considering that was the premise of their now-defunct ‘dead Dad’ ad.

“It was never our intention to cause any upset,” a statement explained of their ad, created by London-based advertising firm Leo Burnett, that first aired in the UK a week ago. “We are particularly sorry that the advert may have disappointed those who are most important to us – our customers.”

The latest in a long line of monumental missteps in the world of advertising (Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad, for one), the campaign, which was pulled from air yesterday after 150 complaints were made to the UK Advertising Standards Authority, depicts a young fatherless boy getting to know his late dad through some reminiscing and a trip to McDonald’s with his widowed mum. Yep, it’s as weird as it sounds. See the full ad below.